Chapter 294: 夺道

If she could gain a share from the conflict between Li Weiyi and Wang Shu, then the resources she'd need to cultivate to the third, or even fourth, level of the Dao Seed Realm would likely be sufficient.

What's more, Yang Qingxi greatly desired to defeat Wang Shu and bring all of his followers under her own command.

Although she was a Divine Maiden, she had almost no one she could rely on within the main altar, and her foundation was shallow. Otherwise, why else would she use Yang Yun?

Just then, news arrived from the Spirit Valley Hall.

"A two-star Spirit Mind Master? The Spirit God of the Fusang Divine Tree? Li Weiyi is truly formidable; his spiritual power talent is so extraordinary. With those strange insects, this will be a challenging fight."

Yang Qingxi made a decisive choice and looked at Yang Yun: "Go to the Fourth Divine Son's residence and relay Li Weiyi's words exactly as they were spoken to the Divine Son. Remember, it must be relayed face-to-face."

"Ah?"

Yang Yun froze, thinking his sister's attitude had changed too quickly. Could there really be an illicit affair? Relaying it face-to-face, he felt he would be beaten to death by the Fourth Divine Son.

Yang Yun's feeling was not wrong; this was exactly Yang Qingxi's intention. After all, to have a legitimate reason for action, she had to make Yang Yun suffer a bit first. Being beaten to death was unlikely, but a severe beating was probably unavoidable.

Yang Yun, looking utterly distraught, walked out of the Divine Maiden's residence.

Yang Qingxi returned to her cultivation chamber, opened a door leading underground, and entered a dark, eerie, confined space. An otherworldly coffin was placed in the exact center of the underground space. The air was icy cold, chilling even Dao Seed Realm cultivators to the bone. Dark red blood mist continuously seeped out of the coffin.

Within the blood mist lay a woman who looked exactly like Yang Qingxi; it was Yang Qingchan. During the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, Yang Qingchan's corpse had been taken by the Twin Rice Sect. Yang Qingxi had planted a Departing Soul Seed, obtained from the Heavenly Principle Hall, into the corpse. Yang Qingchan was now her soul servant.

From inside the coffin, Yang Qingchan spoke, her tone the same as before: "Where are the high-grade blood crystals I need? And the body-refining resources like Immortal Soil and Divine Hearthwood? This physical body is too weak now; it severely restricts my strength."

Yang Qingxi knew very well that the one lying in the coffin was no longer her sister, but a powerful Departed Spirit cultivated by the Divine Sect using her sister's body as a vessel. She said coldly, "If you want resources, you'll have to get them yourself."

At the Fourth Divine Son's Residence, Qi Xiao and Tuoba Butuo were locked within an array on a stone wall, emaciated and frail, without a trace of their former vigor. Their bodies had suffered severe blood loss.

Wang Shu, appearing as a fifteen or sixteen-year-old youth, sat cross-legged, his hands stretched straight out in front of him. From the palms of his hands, Dharma Qi and Dao Heart Intentions overflowed, twisting into root-like tendrils. These tendrils plunged into Qi Xiao and Tuoba Butuo's Ancestral Fields, continuously absorbing the power of their Dragon Seeds. As their Dao Seeds were absorbed, the dual agony, both physical and psychological, caused the two to shriek in misery, as if they were in hell. Their bodies trembled uncontrollably, until they eventually fainted from the pain.

"This is truly wonderful," he mused. "As expected of an ancient Heavenly Emperor's Daoist insights. No wonder Yang Qingxi cultivates so quickly."

"Dragon Seeds are indeed treasures that defy fate! It's a pity they can't be directly stripped from their bodies; they can only be absorbed in this manner, which greatly limits my cultivation speed."

In the more than a month since Qi Xiao and Tuoba Butuo were brought out of the Divine Prison, Wang Shu's cultivation had greatly advanced, surpassing the results of his previous half-year of arduous cultivation.

"I cannot let them die yet," he decided. "I must first absorb all the Dragon Seeds in their Ancestral Fields before they can die."

Wang Shu decided not to drink their blood for now, but to let them recuperate well. Breaking through to the fourth level of the Dao Seed Realm and condensing a Dao Lotus was imminent, sure to succeed within ten days. However, this was far from his ultimate goal.

Ye Nanfeng and Ye Beifeng, two true disciples of the Dao Seed Realm, hurried outside the cultivation chamber. They were both over fifty years old, but their cultivation had remained at the third level of the Dao Seed Realm. They followed Wang Shu, hoping to seize the opportunity to condense a Dao Lotus and break through to the fourth level.

Ye Nanfeng said urgently, "Your Highness, something bad has happened. Li Weiyi has been taken as the Grand Disciple by Venerable Nan."

Wang Shu did not open the door, not wanting any complications at this critical moment of his cultivation: "Did the puppet straw man I gave you fail its assassination?"

It was Ye Beifeng who controlled the puppet straw man. He replied, "Li Weiyi's spiritual power cultivation has greatly advanced; he's already a two-star Spirit Mind Master. There are reports that Zuo Sheng was even defeated and captured by him."

"Zuo Sheng has cultivated for a hundred years; how could he be so useless?"

Wang Shu's good mood vanished, feeling utterly disgraced. He began to ponder seriously: "Venerable Nan couldn't even capture Tang Wanzhou and almost exposed the route into the main altar. Several Eternal Realm magnates in the sect are already displeased with her, suspecting her of doing it on purpose."

"At this critical juncture, she dares to take a Divine Hidden person from the Nine Li Hidden Gate as a disciple."

"Very well then! For now, I don't need to pay attention. Once I condense the Dao Lotus, my strength and standing in the sect will be vastly different. At that time, I will have many ways to deal with Venerable Nan's Grand Disciple.”

A core disciple arrived with a swift movement technique, reporting: "Your Highness, Yang Yun, the Sixth Divine Maiden's younger brother, is here to see you, saying he has extremely important news to impart."

Yang Yun also had no choice. If he didn't say it like this, he felt he wouldn't be able to see the Fourth Divine Son at all.

A while later.

"Boom!"

Yang Yun was sent flying, smashing through the large gate and out of the Fourth Divine Son's residence. Blood streamed from his nose and mouth as he tumbled away.

Yao Qingxuan and an important figure from the Spirit Valley Hall were discussing the external situation.

Li Weiyi followed Elder Xu to receive his true disciple's straw robe and life token. Before condensing a Dao Lotus, a true disciple's straw robe was embroidered with four Spirit Grains. The number of Spirit Grains on one's person determined their status and position, as well as their freedom within the main altar. As for the Divine Sons and Divine Maidens, due to their exceptional talent and high probability of growing into Eternal Realm magnates, their straw robes were embroidered with seven Spirit Grains. This put them in a higher position than some elders, and they could access all sorts of Dharma codes and Daoist techniques. As for the life token, each disciple's was unique; they needed to drip a drop of their blood into it.

Elder Xu explained, "True disciples can access all minor techniques and some Dharma codes from the Spirit Valley Hall. They also have free access to the cultivation areas of the twenty-eight Heavenly Dharma Earth Springs."

"As for the four great techniques, you'll need to complete missions, earn merit for the Divine Sect, and accumulate enough contribution points to access them."

"True Disciple Li, of course, is different. You are Venerable Nan's Grand Disciple and one of the most central figures of the Spirit Valley Hall. If you wish to access anything, just tell this old man."

Li Weiyi secretly sighed, noting the omnipresent social nuances. Understanding the situation, he repeatedly expressed his gratitude.

"However, completing missions is an unshakeable responsibility for true disciples. You must complete at least one mission each season."

Elder Xu reminded him thus, and then led Li Weiyi to the Spirit Valley Hall's Mission Tower.

"Guide outer disciples in cultivation for half a month; reward: five hundred Spring Coins or five hundred contribution points."

"Cultivate one hundred acres of rice fields; reward: one hundred Spring Coins or one hundred contribution points."

The Spirit Valley Hall's role within the Twin Rice Sect was primarily instruction and nurturing, responsible for cultivating outer disciples and inner disciples. Once they became core disciples, those with high talent were almost immediately recruited by various factions. "Spirit Grain" means 'seed,' which destined most of the Spirit Valley Hall's missions to be low-risk and low-reward.

Of course, there were exceptions.

"Intercept and kill cultivators who break into the underground Immortal Abode: killing a first-level Dao Seed Realm cultivator yields one hundred thousand contribution points. Capturing alive doubles the reward!"

"Killing a second-level Dao Seed Realm cultivator yields two hundred thousand contribution points. Capturing alive doubles the reward!"

Li Weiyi's gaze fixed on this wall, a myriad of thoughts swirling in his mind. He asked, "Can all true disciples accept interception missions?"

"Naturally!"

Elder Xu smiled and added, "Furthermore, a Saint Spirit Mind Master or an Eternal Realm magnate will accompany you to prevent true disciples from making mistakes during missions and exposing the main altar. Therefore, while there is danger, it's not exceedingly high, making it a good opportunity for training."

Li Weiyi saw bounty missions for cultivators with special identities. Among them, Tang Wanzhou was prominently listed, with a reward reaching ten million contribution points. Contribution points could be used as Spring Coins to exchange for various cultivation resources at the Spirit Valley Hall.

Li Weiyi asked, "Are there no missions outside?"

"Outside? You mean above ground? There are some, but very few in the Spirit Valley Hall."

Elder Xu laughed, "If you want to undertake missions outside, you'll have to go to the World Hall. The World Hall is responsible for all matters in the world. Venerable Nan is one of the five Great Venerables of the World Hall, managing everything in the seven southern provinces, so the missions for the southern provinces are in her hands.”

Li Weiyi had no immediate plans to undertake missions. Under Elder Xu's guidance, he then went to the Spirit Valley Hall's Resource Treasury. This was to familiarize himself with the environment and learn the routes in advance.

Outside the Resource Treasury, Li Weiyi asked another Elder Xu, who was guarding the place, about the price of spring liquid. The two Elder Xus were Rice-man brothers. The Elder Xu guarding the Resource Treasury was much colder, with a completely different personality, and a business-like demeanor: "One drop of spring liquid costs seven contribution points or ten Spring Coins."

Li Weiyi took out one interspatial bag after another, including those he'd taken from Yang Yun, Zuo Sheng, and Zuo Shi. Putting them all together, he had a total of one hundred eighty thousand Spring Coins, with which he purchased eighteen thousand drops of spring liquid.

The gentle Elder Xu laughed, "True Disciple Li is truly impressive! Even the Divine Sons and Divine Maidens, when they were in the Five Seas Realm, rarely purchased so much spring liquid at once. Their Ancestral Fields could only expand to just over twenty thousand square units anyway.”

Li Weiyi feigned a pained expression, then showed a look of madness and obsession: "One must always strive for something. If I don't strive, how can I be content? Elder Xu, I have a Dao Lotus that has completely released its Dharma Qi; how many Spring Coins can it be exchanged for?"

The cold-natured Elder Xu retrieved the spring liquid and handed it to Li Weiyi: "A Dao Lotus can be refined into Dao Lotus Pills, which are great medicines for Dao Seed Realm cultivators to advance their cultivation. The price varies depending on the grade of the Dao Lotus.”

Li Weiyi took out the box containing the Dao Lotus and handed it over. A Dao Lotus was an ultimate treasure, comparable to thousand-year-old spirit herbs. Its ability to help Five Seas Realm cultivators accumulate Qi was only a tiny fraction of its value.

After examining it, Elder Xu said expressionlessly: "This is a Dao Lotus from a fourth-level Dao Seed Realm cultivator, and it's only the lowest grade, a three-petal Dharma flower lotus. It can be exchanged for one hundred eighty thousand Spring Coins.”

Beside them, the other Elder Xu quietly told Li Weiyi, "The Spirit Valley Hall acquires treasures at a much lower price. You could sell it in the market town and get at least twenty thousand more Spring Coins.”

The cold-natured Elder Xu snorted, "If you're not afraid of exposing your wealth, then go ahead. If you sell it at the Spirit Valley Hall, who would dare to leak information? Besides, if you're exchanging resources for resources, there's room for negotiation.”

Li Weiyi's heart stirred. He asked, "Does the Spirit Valley Hall have fragments of the Spirit Platform Blazing Star Stone?"